mpatton

Ha very true, I thought about that after I put the hardware in...might just have to save this hardware for another build

Build is still inching forward...planning on finishing it up over the break. For now here's the initial staining.

Thanks for the input, guys Green was my initial plan for the top and I think that's what I'll probably end up going with. Got some green stain that I'll test out a bit before I make any final decisions. Got the routing finished the other day, the frets hammered in and the hardware's placed in to make sure everything fits. It looks so close that I just want to throw some strings on and see if it works, but there's a lot of little things I need to do before getting to that point (though I guess the frets and nut are all that are really holding me back at this point).

I used a table saw to do the ones on my neck. Ran the edge through the jointer first, then set the fence on the table saw for a about 1/16". A good table saw should get you pretty clean cuts, I just went over mine a bit with a scraper before gluing them up. I also cut my bindings this way, so you can make very thin, straight cuts as long as your sides are parallel.

Got the trem routing done today:

Well I finally picked this up again the other day, starting to do more work again. I like the idea Bryan, definitely would help make the design more unique...unfortunately I feel like it's a bit late to do something like that, would need to rebind and all. I'll keep that in mind for my next build though! After putting in the first two frets I went "Shoot...what about the fret markers?" Doh...so I took out the frets and did my first inlay work, which went about as well as I could hope for. Kitty inspecting the work Shot of the back, still some carving to do but very comfortable already. That's it for now, hoping to finally get going on the pickup and trem routes done soon so I can string it up

Thanks for the reply. Yes, that was my main concern...I certainly wouldn't want the color to fade on me because I was too cheap to get some real dye. I was hoping someone might have some sort of experience with this, but as you say this is a "mystery ink," and I'd be surprised if anyone knew anything about using printer inks on a guitar Guess that means I'll need to pick some colors...any particular dyes you would recommend? I need to make an order from Stewmac soon and might get some of their ColorTone Concentrated stain, though I would be happier if I could find something a bit cheaper.

Just a little update, finally got going on the binding, as you can see still have the other side to do. Also need to decide if I want to do binding on the inside of the horns...I was thinking I might sort of scallop them instead. Binding closeup Also while thinking of what to do about staining the guitar I noticed some printer ink refills sitting around, and wondered how they might work on wood. I experimented a bit on some spare wood, a couple different colors (black sanded back then blue, just plain blue, blue with a bit of yellow). It seemed to work well enough..still deciding on what color to do, but does anyone see any reason why to not use these inks? A couple quick photoshop mockups of color ideas...again I'm lost at the moment on the color, the hardware I've got is black. I kind of like the black, but at the same time would like something colorful to contrast with the red/orange padauk and white maple.

Got the top glued up and sanded flush with the sides. The little black spot is a bit of bark that will be gone once the binding is routed.

Little update. Got the neck glued in, a bit more carving done on the heel. I'm very happy with how comfortable it is to reach the upper frets, much nicer than my old guitar. Not so happy about the maple "accent"...at the time, I thought it would be cool to have something provide a bit of contrast, but now that it's glued up (of course) I think I regret using maple. Maybe ebony or something similar would have looked good, but I think the maple there just looks like some sort of hole in the neck. Maybe it will grow on my once it gets carved a bit more, if not I might end up staining that piece a different color.

Glued a bit of maple on the headstock and roughed out the headstock shape...still need to do some tweaking, not real happy with it yet. Headstock Roughing out heel

Started carving the neck, and routed the neck pocket.

Thanks guys. The padauk's been great to work with, love the color and it's been easy to shape. It does seem to work its way into the figure of the maple when I'm sanding, but I've found that going over the maple with an eraser will clean it up. One other thing about padauk..err, how does one actually say "padauk?" I feel a bit foolish when people ask me what this crazy orange wood is and I stumble around the pronunciation.

Spring break's over, back to work on the guitar. I got most of my parts in, so I can really start making progress. I glued a strip in to the bottom of the truss rod channel, got it to the perfect height. Got the Hot Rod in there with a little silicone, then glued on the fingerboard. Also got the neck to the right taper (still need take one side down a bit more to get the right width, but the taper should be good). Finally, I got the fingerboard sanded down to a 12" radius. Nice and shiny

This may seem like sort of a silly question, but how are you guys applying your Tru-Oil? By hand (literally, meaning fingers, as suggested on bottle), with a brush, cloth, or...? I've just started experimenting with the stuff applying it by hand but I'm not sure that's the best way to do it. It's definitely nice to work with, though, cool to be able to apply indoors and not have to worry about toxic fumes and whatnot